More subways eyed as DOTr shows off progress on flagship infra
THE Metro Manila Subway Project is expected to open in 2029, but this early, the government said the country will have more subway and railway lines in the future.
This was revealed by Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista who inspected the project’s construction site in Valenzuela together with Finance Secretary Ralph Recto.
The two officials visited the tunnel where one of the tunnel boring machines is located.
“We would have new subway lines in the future. Right now we are working with JICA for a 30-year masterplan for railways and JICA will help us develop all the funds, develop all the lines we will need,” said Bautista referring to the Japan International Cooperation Agency which is funding the subway project.
JICA Philippines Chief Representative Sakamoto Takema agreed with Bautista, comparing the rail l i nes of Metro Tokyo and Metro Manila.
“The size of Metro Manila is just the same as the area size of Metropolitan Tokyo. And the population is bigger by 1.3 [times]. But here, there are only three to four railway lines. In Tokyo we have 83. First ever underground subway is not totally enough,” the JICA had said.
Recto said all the projects would be possible as there are several options for funding sources and not necessarily all will be via ODA or official development assistance.
“There are many ways to procure the project, one is through JICA or ODA the other would be through PPP [ Public Private Partnership Project]. We have already PPP code,” said Recto who also hailed the NAIA rehabilitation project which attracted huge conglomerates to bid.
Recto added that rail lines are needed as the lines will help ease traffic. He mentioned a JICA study which stated that the traffic today in Metro Manila is already costing the economy around P3.5 billion a day.
Bautista, meanwhile, said they are preparing for the possible bidding of the operations and maintenance contract of the Metro Manila Subway Project, MRT 3, and the North-South Commuter Railway.